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The owner's vision for the pavilion has two main aspects: firstly, it needs to seamlessly blend with the mountain, and secondly, it will serve as the space to promote local intangible cultural heritage. In order to better integrate the building into its surrounding environment, it is designed to present a low, humble posture in front of the ancient architecture, and it incorporates a significant amount of local natural materials. The central theme of the architecture revolves around the intangible cultural heritage of "Clay Gugu", a century-old craftsmanship of clay sculpture depicting adorable and whimsical little birds. The building's fluid contours gracefully unfold across the site, evoking the image of a Gugu bird spreading its wings as it lands atop the mountain peak.
During the design process, great emphasis is placed on utilizing local natural materials that align with the regional architectural style. Stone is employed for the roof slates and seating in the courtyard, while wood is used for the roofs, doors, windows, and furniture. Additionally, other natural materials such as rammed earth and bamboo are incorporated to further enhance the building's compatibility with surroundings. Furthermore, discarded rubble stones found on-site are repurposed to construct the pavilion's feature wall, establishing a harmonious connection with the adjacent mountain. In the landscape design, existing tall trees on the site are preserved to maximize the integration of nature and the project, ensuring a seamless blend with the natural surroundings.
The terrain of Dapi Mountain is a world geological cultural heritage site, and new buildings cannot excavate foundations deeper than 200mm. Therefore, the entire building must use as few and small columns as possible to create a spacious interior. Each column's foundation height varies to minimize the impact on the rocks. In the design process, natural materials such as stone, rammed earth, and wood were utilized for the paving, roofing, walls, and courtyard of the building, with the aim of maximizing the combination of nature and architecture. To minimize damage to the environment caused by excessive machinery use, most natural materials were manually processed by local craftsmen.
We face two major challenges in the design process: how to better integrate the architecture with the site, and how to incorporate elements of intangible cultural heritage into the building. Taking into consideration the topography and visitor flow, we have positioned the main entrance on the eastern side, utilizing the natural change of the mountain to design entrance steps. The building retains the enclosed layout of the original site, employing gentle linear forms to connect the entrance spaces on the east and west sides, while leaving a courtyard on the south side for relaxation. Simultaneously, we aim for the architecture to present itself in a subtle manner amidst the mountains, echoing the surrounding millennia-old ancient architecture. The architecture follows the sloping roof form of ancient buildings, while employing contemporary construction techniques to achieve a lighter structure. The architecture continues the traditional architectural feature of upturned eaves, gradually lifting the eave height of the eastern and western entrances to create a sense of entrance, while lowering the height at the center just enough to avoid any collision. To incorporate elements of Clay Gugu, we have designed a stone platform shaped like a Gugu bird at the entrance, clearly conveying the design theme. Alongside the rammed earth walls, one can feel the craftsmanship of the local artisans in shaping the earth, much like the skillful artisans who create Clay Gugu.
Throughout the entire project, all construction workers are local villagers, and whether it's the treatment of rough stones or the installation of slate tiles, traditional Chinese construction techniques are passed down. After completion, the building provides a space for visitors and local villagers to rest, enriching the local cultural resources. The incorporation of intangible cultural heritage elements in the design details also offers visitors a deeper cultural experience.
Galaxy Arch was founded in Shanghai in 2022 by Ji Xin and Ge Jiaqi. Committed to original designs, Galaxy Arch consistently adheres to the principle of providing customized, poetic, warm, and textured designs for each project. Galaxy Arch's scrutiny of design penetrates the entire process from concept to final implementation, striving for excellent standards through careful examination and refinement of details. Galaxy Arch pays attention to construction, believing that it is an essential link between people and design.
Galaxy Arch focuses on the design of small-scale architecture. The holistic design process from building interiors to landscape allows us to present a complete experience clearly. Design concepts can be consistently applied across different specialties and deepened gradually throughout different stages of the design process. This allows us to invest a great deal of energy and emotion into each project, thus shaping designs that resonate more with people.
